Chapter 156: Emperor Jing'an's Witness
In Yanxiang Palace, Emperor Jing'an sat on the imperial concubine's couch, took the tea handed to him by Imperial Concubine Ling, and took a sip.
Concubine Ling asked softly, "Your Majesty, how is this tea?"
Emperor Jing'an glanced at the tea leaves floating in the cup. They were fresh, bright, mellow in the mouth, and exuded a faint fragrance.
He put down his teacup: "Not bad."
Concubine Ling smiled and said, "Jing'er knows that you like to drink Mingqian Longjing tea, so I specially found this year's new tea as a gift to you."
Emperor Jing'an smiled and said, "He has a heart."
"You came to Yanxiang Palace for dinner today, and I planned to invite Jing'er to join you. He was worried about Yi'er, so he brought the tea and hurried out of the palace." Concubine Ling fanned Emperor Jing'an. "Jing'er doesn't like to make friends and is a bit of a loner, but she and Yi'er get along well."
These words not only brought out Zhao Yi, but also revealed to Emperor Jing'an that Prince Yu was on good terms with Zhao Yi, in order to win the emperor's favor.
Emperor Jing'an would never ask about the relationship between Zhao Yi and Prince Yu. Even if he did, Zhao Yi couldn't just say that he and Prince Yu didn't get along, right?
Emperor Jing'an's face darkened as he recalled the rumors about Shen Qingtan in the capital.
Marquis Cheng'en acted decisively and severed his father-daughter relationship with Shen Qingtan before the truth was revealed.
Seeing the displeasure on Emperor Jing'an's face, Concubine Ling couldn't help but speculate on his thoughts. Could it be that her mention of Zhao Yi had made him think of the scandal surrounding Shen Qingtan outside the palace?
After all, Emperor Jing'an loved Zhao Yi, so how could he tolerate his wife having such a bad reputation?
"Your Majesty, please don't worry about Yi'er." Concubine Ling placed her hand on the back of Emperor Jing'an's hand and lowered her voice, "Jing'er has arranged for someone to escort the court physician to chase Yi'er. He also has a highly skilled court physician outside to take care of him."
Emperor Jing'an frowned and was about to warn the mother and son not to be so clever.
Suddenly, he saw Concubine Ling wearing a blood jade bracelet on her wrist.
He recognized that this blood jade bracelet was given to Concubine Ling by Empress Yuan Rong.
"Yier's affairs will be handled by the Duke's Mansion." Emperor Jing'an's expression softened, and he said in a deep voice, "Jing'er should focus on the important matters."
Emperor Jing'an's implication was that Prince Yu should focus on his own duties and mind his own business.
When Concubine Ling heard that Emperor Jing'an was criticizing her, her face suddenly changed and she dared not mention Zhao Yi again.
At this moment, she couldn't figure out Emperor Jing'an's thoughts.
I don’t know whether Emperor Jing’an was protecting Zhao Yi or was disappointed with Zhao Yi, so he no longer cared about Zhao Yi’s life or death.
She lowered her head slightly, subconsciously stroking the blood jade bracelet on her wrist, her eyes becoming increasingly darker.
Every time she tried to find out information from Emperor Jing'an in a roundabout way, even if she accidentally crossed Emperor Jing'an's bottom line, as long as he saw the old things given to her by Empress Yuanrong on her, he would not say a harsh word to her.
This trick didn't work when facing Zhao Yi.
Emperor Jing'an stood up and left Yanxiang Palace and returned to the imperial study.
He sat in the dragon throne, looking solemnly at a chair not far away. It was Zhao Yi's exclusive chair.
Some time ago, Zhao Yi sat there with an unusually solemn expression.
"Your Majesty, you have appointed Marquis Cheng'en as the Grand Canal Commander-in-Chief, a position few can hold. My wife is from the Marquis Cheng'en mansion, and I am worried that he will lose control of himself and go astray, bringing harm to my wife."
He felt a strange feeling in his heart. Zhao Yi clearly knew his intention in appointing Marquis Cheng'en as the commander-in-chief of the grain transport, yet he had to go through all the trouble to explain it. This showed that in Zhao Yi's heart, there was always a distinction between the emperor and his subjects.
No matter how much he favored Zhao Yi, Zhao Yi always kept her distance, knew when to stop, and never overstepped the line in front of him.
This realization made him feel powerless.
"I want to protect her, to keep her by my side clean and pure, free from any taint." Zhao Yi stood up from his chair and bowed to him. "I'm about to do something that might temporarily jeopardize my wife's reputation. I hope Your Majesty won't intervene on my behalf."
He guessed what Zhao Yi wanted to do. Marquis Cheng'en was convicted. If he wanted to protect Shen Qingtan's reputation from being affected, he must sever ties with the Marquis Cheng'en's Mansion.
How could Marquis Cheng'en easily sever ties?
Only if Shen Qingtan's existence would hinder the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion would the Cheng'en Marquis take the initiative to sever ties.
As a result, Shen Qingtan would inevitably be criticized before he severed his relationship with Marquis Cheng'en.
Then Zhao Yi said, "Uncle, please help me."
He was suddenly shocked when he heard this call.
This was the first time Zhao Yi called him uncle.
Putting aside the relationship between the monarch and his subjects, he treated him as a relative.
Even though he was unwilling in his heart, he could not refuse Zhao Yi's request.
Emperor Jing'an came out of his thoughts and let out a long sigh.
Sure enough, things developed just as he had expected.
Emperor Jing'an rubbed his eyebrows heavily, deeply suspecting that a few new wrinkles had appeared on his forehead.
"Your Majesty," Eunuch Cao consoled him, "Master Xiao Zhao has the right ideas and is careful and thorough in his actions. He will definitely escape unscathed."
"Since ancient times, women have valued chastity as their life. How can the current disturbance be easily quelled?" Emperor Jing'an said with a stern face, "A woman's reputation is damaged, like broken porcelain. No matter how hard you try to repair it, the cracks will remain and it will never be as intact as before."
Eunuch Cao was speechless, and couldn't help but worry whether Zhao Yi could turn the tide.
Emperor Jing'an ordered: "Go and bring Marquis En into the palace."
Eunuch Cao took the order and left.
-
After Marquis Cheng'en severed his father-daughter relationship with Shen Qingtan, rumors about Shen Qingtan became more and more intense.
At first, the people suspected that someone had framed Shen Qingtan, because before the news of his elopement spread, there were rumors that Shen Qingtan had been assassinated.
Marquis Cheng'en's actions confirmed that Shen Qingtan was unfaithful to her husband.
In an instant, she was pushed to the forefront.
When Shen Qingtan was being criticized and cursed by thousands of people, Marquis Cheng'en finally received a letter from Prince Yu, and his heart was completely at peace.
He was about to go to the appointment when he happened to meet a eunuch from the palace, who invited him into the palace on the oral order of Emperor Jing'an.
Marquis Cheng'en entered the palace and came to the imperial study.
While paying his respects to Emperor Jing'an, he tried to guess what he was thinking.
Emperor Jing'an got straight to the point and said, "Lord Shen, I heard that you and Zhao Shen have severed your father-daughter relationship?"
"Your Majesty, as the head of the family, I must set an example to convince the clan members. You cannot be more lenient towards Tan'er just because she is your daughter."
Marquis Cheng'en knelt on the ground and said with deep fear, "I personally requested this marriage from the Duke's Mansion. Now that I have failed to raise my daughter well, and have brought shame upon the Duke's Mansion, I must give them an explanation no matter what."
"My dear Lord Shen, you have done a great job. Whether you are the head of a family or an official appointed by the court, you must set an example and not show favoritism, only then can you establish your prestige."
Seeing the grief-stricken look on Marquis Cheng'en's face, Emperor Jing'an said slowly, "It is a blessing for the people of the Great Zhou to have such an impartial and kind official like you."
Marquis Cheng'en was confused. Before entering the palace, he thought Emperor Jing'an was going to punish him.
As a result, he was praised.
As Marquis Cheng'en's thoughts turned, he heard Emperor Jing'an say, "My dear Lord Shen, I will bear witness for you. You sever ties with Shen Qingtan today. No matter what she does in the future, it will have nothing to do with the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion."
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